At Global Alliance, we take the “Worldwide” in our company name very seriously. We pride ourselves in offering premium limousine services to our clientele not only in our home base of Toronto but around the globe. Through our sophisticated network of trusted worldwide affiliates, Global Alliance can provide professional chauffeured services in hundreds of international cities. We will discuss many of the major worldwide destinations served via our affiliate network on this blog. Today’s destination is Canada’s easternmost city, St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The capital and largest city of the youngest Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s is nonetheless one of the country’s oldest cities. St. John’s Harbour was first glimpsed by Europeans in 1497, when Italian navigator John Cabot is believed to have sailed its waters and made landfall on behalf of England. The site was frequented throughout the 16th Century by seasonal fishermen from France, Portugal and Spain’s Basque Country seeking out the bounty of the surrounding North Atlantic Ocean. By the early 17th Century, St. John’s and Newfoundland’s eastern coast were dominated by fishermen from England’s West Country, whose distinctive speech patterns survive in the modern Newfoundland regional English accent.
Given a Royal Charter in 1583 by Queen Elizabeth I, St. John’s did not see year-round settlement begin until 1630, but even this founding date makes the city one of the continent’s oldest habitations. Fought over in imperial wars with the French and Dutch, St. John’s became a fortified British port as well as a centre of the islands’ fisheries. In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message on St. John’s Signal Hill, now a National Historic Site (one of 21 such Sites in the city). St. John’s history continued through the world wars and to Newfoundland and Labrador’s entry into Canadian Confederation.
Colorful houses on hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
Today, St. John’s is a modern city of 100,000 inhabitants (180,000 in the metro area) with a distinctive appearance, style and culture. Its turn-of-the-century architecture is defined by colourfully-painted wood-framed houses, arranged along winding vertical streets stretching up the hillside from the harbour. Heritage regulations protect these historic structures and limit the height of downtown edifices, preserving its quaint and eccentric feel. Downtown strips like Water Street and Duckworth Street demonstrate this brightly-hued wooden look, and many of the city’s most desirable shops and finest restaurants can be found on them, while George Street is the heart of St. John’s active nightlife and celtic-tinged music scene.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial government facilities are located in St. John’s, as well as the main provincial cultural centre, the Rooms. Memorial University is the major post-secondary educational institution for the city and the province. In addition to its busy harbour, the main transportation hub for the city is St. John’s International Airport on the city’s outskirts.
Please feel free to contact Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services for all of your transportation needs in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.